It's time for a new contest, and this time we're paying homage to Beethro's grandfather, Gunthro Budkin. While Gunthro and the Epic Blunder is a well-known tale at this point, what were some of Gunthro's other adventures?

The goal of this contest is to build a small level in the Gunthro (DROD4) style. In other words, this should be a low-difficulty level that introduces an element to the player as though it is their first time seeing it. Since these are the untold tales, the element being introduced should not be one of the elements used in the official Gunthro hold.

*low difficulty
(aim for between 1 and 4 brains; use the main Gunthro hold as a guide)

*Gunthro player role
(shallow water traversal optional, but let me know when submitting your hold so that I can make sure there aren't any scripting issues when the player is going between entries)

*limited element set
(see my recommendations below)

*puzzles are all themed around the element that is being introduced, and this element is introduced in a way that a player new to the element could understand

*story and dialogue optional, but the final hold will be framed as Beethro telling Halph stories about Gunthro, so feel free to have Beethro narrate things to the player, and to have Halph interrupt the story

The Elements:

The main Gunthro hold can be divided into three tiers of levels, based on what the player has encountered before having access to a hub level and getting to decide where to go next. This is the list of all elements introduced in the Gunthro hold before each of the hubs begins. If your level were to have been added as an option from that hub, these are the only elements you would have to work with, in addition to the new element you are introducing.

Voting:
There are two things to consider here. Is the level fun? Does it fit as a Gunthro-esque level introducing a new element? Both of these things will be marked out of 5. Cut your usual out of 10 fun/quality rating in half, and then add up to 5 points based on how well the entry follows the guidelines above. Of particular importance is that the level introduces the new element in a reasonable manner, that the difficulty is reasonably low, and that only one (or a few)* element is being introduced to the player.

Limit 3 entries per architect. Collaborative entries are okay.
Also, I will be checking the entries for spelling/grammar mistakes and giving feedback to the architects before posting the compilation for voting, so if English isn't your first language (or you're just bad at English) you won't be punished for writing dialogue. I will not be giving feedback on puzzles before voting, but if I notice glaring issues like unreachable rooms or no exit stairs I'll probably mention something.

Prizes:
This is an official contest, so regular prizes apply:First place: 100 rank points and a pick from the Prize PileSecond place: 50 rank pointsThird place: 25 rank pointsFirst-time entry: 10 rank points8-timer prize: For participating in eight contests, one pick from the Prize Pile, but only those prizes specifically designated as available for 8-timers.

Deadline:
Contest submissions will be accepted for three weeks, up until Local Time:11-20-2017 at 12:00 PM. Voting will then take place until the end of the month.

Questions:

Click here to view the secret text

×Can I introduce more than one element in my level?
Yes, but it's probably not a good idea unless it's unavoidable. (Technically, Gunthro introduces multiple elements in a single level several times: trapdoor/trapdoor gate, tunnel/pressure plate, bomb/fuse, spider/mirror...) A level built around fluff vents would also need to introduce puffs and fluff, for example. A level built around a tarstuff mother or a tarstuff switch token would need to introduce all the relevant elements. Doing multiple similar elements in one level might also work, such as doing sister gates and introducing them for trapdoor, room clear, and level clear gates in one level. Once you've selected your element(s), just try to keep things as simple as you can.

Can I use a custom element?
Yes, be it a new element, or a pre-existing element from TSS, the Custom Element Contest, or elsewhere. Using a custom element will make it really obvious if you've done a bad job introducing the element in a reasonable way, however, so keep that in mind.

Can I include challenges?
Yes, although I wouldn't worry about it. After all, GatEB didn't have support for challenges initially, and the challenges in the Steam version were added after the community had already played through the game. I will definitely add challenges to the final compilation if anybody does something challenge-worthy with your entry. If an entry does include challenges, please ignore them when judging the difficulty of the entry. After all, some of the GatEB challenges are extremely difficult, despite their levels being pretty easy.

I'm not 100% clear on the rules of element use. Early on you say something like "these elements are introduced before such and such so only use these elements" and then later you give an example of introducing fluff vents, which would obviously be not one of those elements that are okay to use?

Like, if I wanted for some incomprehensible reason to attempt to introduce gentryii or wraithwings, would that be okay or not? Or is it just that, if I was introducing the Stick Token I wouldn't be allowed to "assume" the player knows what mirrors or wraithwings are?

The example for introducing fluff vents was assuming that fluff vents were your new element. If you chose to teach Gunthro about fluff vents, you'd obviously also need to introduce fluff and puffs, since those elements are all interrelated.

You final interpretation was correct. If you introduce the Staff Token as your element, you shouldn't assume that the player knows other elements like mirrors and wraithwings, since those elements haven't been taught yet.

Also, both wraithwings and mirrors were taught in the GatEB hold, and after reaching the 3rd hub, so they shouldn't be used in any entries.

Are I must name the levels Glum Cove, Tuenan Coast, and Akandia?
Are I must use the elements you mention?
How many levels can submitted in a hold?
What do you mean of this 'Hub'?
Are this 'Hub' used to connect other my entries?

Have you played through the Gunthro and the Epic Blunder hold? Glum Cove, Tuenan Coast, and Akandia are the three main hub levels there.

Each hub level has a bunch of other levels that you can reach from it. For example, from Glum Cove you can reach levels that introduce these elements:
*guard
*platform (over water)
*trapdoor (over pit and over water), trapdoor gate
*clone
*roach queen

Each of those levels only uses the elements that were introduced before the start of the Glum Cove hub level, plus the additional elements being introduced. So, both the guard level and the platform level can use roaches, but the guard level doesn't use platforms and the platform level doesn't use guards.

The idea for this contest is that you take an element that wasn't used in Gunthro and the Epic Blunder and make another level that would be added to the hub level. For example, you could assume that the player is at Glum Cove, and you are adding a level about floor spikes. This level would only use the basic elements plus floor spikes.

In the post above your last post I have a list of elements that are okay to use. You can use all of these elements if you want, or you can just use a few of them. You can't use elements that aren't on the list, except for ONE ELEMENT that you are choosing to build a level around.

Your contest submission should be a one level hold. If you want to make more than one level, you can submit up to three entries to the contest, but each level would be a separate entry.

Don't worry about making a hub. As the contest coordinator, I will be making a hub level that will connect your entry to all the other entries submitted to this contest.

quote:Xindaris wrote:
Here's a new question:
How much can a secret room deviate from the "low difficulty" rule and not be considered Bad? I mean, can I make a 4 brain level with a 7-ish brain secret and still be ok?

I can't think of a single secret in GatEB that qualifies as 7 brains, but I guess it's your call. I usually ignore secret rooms in contests when scoring them, but I'm not voting on this contest anyway.

I'd probably avoid doing that though, just to be safe. It will probably cause at least some of the people playing your entry to take off a mark.

Difficulty is subjective and all that, but maybe play through Inauro Canyon 2N2E or Rock Giant Lair 2W and see how your room compares. I think those were the two hardest secrets in the hold for me.